Amazonian Maretorios: Multiscalar Conflicts, Climate Emergencies, and Alternative Practices in the Fishing Community of Jubim, Marajó

In the Anthropocene context, the intensity of extreme events (floods, landslides, cyclones, heat waves, etc.) and the broader effects of climate change, such as food insecurity, health impacts, economic losses, and climate-induced displacements, highlight the urgent global nature of this phenomenon and the need for effective responses. While not a recent issue, the consequences of climate change have become increasingly evident since the early 21st century, especially in the Global South. Countries in this region face greater vulnerability and less adaptive capacity due to factors such as development models, poverty, inequality, resource scarcity, institutional fragility, and reliance on agriculture.

The Marajó Archipelago in Pará, Brazil, located at the mouth of the Amazon River, is a region rich in biodiversity and culture, yet its population of nearly 500,000 inhabitants—comprising Indigenous peoples, Quilombolas, riverine communities, fishers, and other traditional groups—is threatened by the development model imposed along Pará's coastal zone. Intensive logging, agribusiness activities like cattle ranching, açaí appropriation, industrial fishing, and monoculture have severely impacted natural resources, leading to socio-environmental conflicts and increased violence against Indigenous and traditional communities.

This study focuses on the fishing community of Jubim, in Salvaterra, exploring the socio-territorial conflicts affecting their maretorio (marine territory). Using ethnography, it investigates the impacts of climate change on Jubim’s socio-biodiversity, based on local fishers’ perceptions. It also seeks to highlight the community’s responses to these challenges, including non-Westernized organizational practices. In Jubim, responses to climate change are intertwined with enchantments and legends, restoring non-human beings to a position of horizontality, rather than duality, with humans, offering an alternative view of collective action and climate adaptation.